Inventory management is vital to the survival and success of the business. In order to keep track of inventory, retailers use a point-of-sale (POS) system that records each transaction as the items are read by a bar code scanner (Vonderembse & White, 2013). This information is used to analyze customer sales data, buying history and pricing information. Alliance Supermarkets has been using a point of sale (POS) system for some time to track its inventory. This paper will formulate new and innovative uses the information from the POS system can help Alliance better serve its customers by ensuring that adequate quantities of each item are available, that costs are kept low, and that customers are made aware of the new products that may interest
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One advantage is that the information can be utilized to generate accurate order forecasts to give companies a significant competitive advantage in demand planning and supply chain efficiency (Gallucci & McCarthy, 2008). This applies to Alliance Supermarkets since they have an abundance of data based on their ability to scan UPC codes. Alliance Supermarkets must utilize the UPC information differently in order to provide better service to its customers by ensuring that adequate quantities of each item are available, that costs are kept low, and that customers are made aware of new products that may interest them. Therefore Alliance Supermarkets need to share the data from all their store locations because POS history is more consistent and reliable than order history. From there the UPC information that is stored by the POS system will provide historical data as to when customers change their behaviors thus affecting inventory levels. The UPC information within the POS system can be used to provide customer insights. This history will indicate the impact of promotional or seasonal activity at retail, which is the information that is extremely valuable the next time Alliance Supermarkets wants to repeat that particular sales event (Gallucci & McCarthy, 2008). Another new and innovative way to utilize the UPC and POS system is by helping with analyzing volume trends. These trends can be utilized by both the manufacturer and the retailer to better define areas of opportunity and risk in category and segment growth (Gallucci & McCarthy, 2008). Finally, the POS system can help Alliance Supermarkets with collaboration within other business segments such as marketing and sales to ensure information is shared and along with the integration of inventory
One advantage is that the information can be utilized to generate accurate order forecasts to give companies a significant competitive advantage in demand planning and supply chain efficiency (Gallucci & McCarthy, 2008). This applies to Alliance Supermarkets since they have an abundance of data based on their ability to scan UPC codes. Alliance Supermarkets must utilize the UPC information differently in order to provide better service to its customers by ensuring that adequate quantities of each item are available, that costs are kept low, and that customers are made aware of new products that may interest them. Therefore Alliance Supermarkets need to share the data from all their store locations because POS history is more consistent and reliable than order history. From there the UPC information that is stored by the POS system will provide historical data as to when customers change their behaviors thus affecting inventory levels. The UPC information within the POS system can be used to provide customer insights. This history will indicate the impact of promotional or seasonal activity at retail, which is the information that is extremely valuable the next time Alliance Supermarkets wants to repeat that particular sales event (Gallucci & McCarthy, 2008). Another new and innovative way to utilize the UPC and POS system is by helping with analyzing volume trends. These trends can be utilized by both the manufacturer and the retailer to better define areas of opportunity and risk in category and segment growth (Gallucci & McCarthy, 2008). Finally, the POS system can help Alliance Supermarkets with collaboration within other business segments such as marketing and sales to ensure information is shared and along with the integration of inventory